Come female, you are cold. Let us return you to your den, I said, holding out a hand. Shyly she lifted her hand and placed it in my grasp. Carefully, I pulled her into the shelter of my arms and headed towards her home. She leaned into me as we walked, her head tilting in my direction. I caught the sound of a slight inhale and knew she was scenting my pheromones again. Her arms wrapped nervously around her torso. The air thickened with the smell of her own arousal musk and I felt my cock harden, pressing against my slit uncomfortably. I tensed my muscles to keep it in, she had not invited me to mate and so I could not display that part of me just yet.
“Sooooo, who are you? Where did you come from?” She asked as we crossed the sand.
I am Kano. Until you came, I made my home near an island not far from here. A day’s swim towards the rising of the sun. Now I rest in a crevice among the rocks over there. I pointed to the rocks alongside the cove.
“No, I mean where does your species come from? What planet do you originate from?” I regarded her curiously while I pondered her meaning.
My people have always been here. We have swum these waters since the rising of the first sun.
“That’s not possible,” my female protested. “The Galactic Council has been monitoring this planet for decades. We’ve never encountered any of your people before. There’s routine population scans and species surveys. There hasn’t been any sign of your people in all the time we’ve been protecting this planet!”
Your people seek to protect this world? We were unaware of your purpose. We have avoided contact with the strangers that come here. As your people approached our territories, we have simply swum deeper, spent less time on land, I explained with a shrug.
“If you’re an unknown species, how are you speaking the same language as me?”
I do not know, perhaps because my people speak mind to mind we can also share languages?
“Why have you shown yourself now?”
As I said, I wish to court you. I want you as my mate.
“But why me? Why not one of your own kind?” Her distress soured the air and she pulled away, spinning around to face me. Tension turned her posture confrontational.
I have not found a female of my kind whose scent called to me as yours does. None of them smelled right. You do. I lowered my body into a submissive stance in hopes she would feel less threatened by me, some females were prone to attacking when stressed. She took another step back instead.
“I just don’t know what to say. I am not looking for a boyfriend here, much less a mate. I appreciate the gifts, but I…I think you need to look somewhere else,” her eyes cut away from me and she looked at the strange den waiting in the tree line.
I do not wish to try elsewhere, I assured her gently. Perhaps she was afraid I would leave her after she accepted me? Did males of her species do that? Do not doubt my sincerity. I wish to bond with you, provide for you. I will not abandon you after we have mated. I will prove myself and earn your trust, I announced decisively. Turning abruptly, I strode back to the water and dove in. I did not want to risk having her reject me outright by being too aggressive. If she did, I was honor bound to respect her choice and leave her territory. I just needed more time to show her my worthiness as a mate. If she rebuffed me the next time I approached, then I would leave her be, but for now, I did not need to approach her to court her properly.
Betsy
He left, quickly disappearing into the water before I could say anything else. Dumbfounded, I stared at the water as the rain continued to saturate my hair and run down my back under my already soaked clothes. Kano’s fin flipped the surface of the water in a quick flick of goodbye and I couldn’t help the involuntary smile that crossed my face. A sudden shiver trembled violently through me, reminding me just how cold I was.
Turning away from the water, I walked the last few feet to my cabin. Inside, I stripped my wet clothes, dumping them in the cleansing unit on the side of the kitchen cabinet. Handily enough, there was a clean, dry towel from my last wash still in it. Wrapping up in it, I wrung my hair out over the sink. It was gritty from the salt water and sand, so I gave up and headed for the shower.
Later, once I was clean and dry, if a little sniffly, I finally checked my sensors. I’d lost two more during the storm, but I didn’t care anymore. Drowning was not worth trying to fix them just yet. Of course, I knew Kano would be there for me if I fell in again. He was so strange and sweet and sincere. I couldn’t help wondering what he was going to do next. And four hands? I shivered just thinking about all the things he could do with four hands. I’d never had good experiences with men. For some reason, I kept finding the ones who took care of themselves and didn’t worry too much about my needs. I honestly wasn’t even entirely sure what I liked during sex. I just knew it wasn’t what I’d experienced already. But I did like being touched and four hands sounded like a lot of touching.
The storm had eased and I propped the door open to let in a breeze while I watched the last of the rain sprinkle down. Night had fallen and I curled up on the sofa with a cup of hot chocolate. Between the storm, nearly drowning, and the excitement of my unexpected rescuer, I was exhausted. I also felt like I was coming down with a cold. The cool air and the steady, quiet drum of the rain was very soothing and my eyes drooped steadily until I was sound asleep.
Chapter Seven
Betsy
I woke at sunrise when the crash of falling dishes jolted me out of sleep. Jerking awake, I opened my eyes in time to see the scaly tail of a young baila scurry out the door. It had apparently wandered through the open door and climbed the counter looking for a snack. Rubbing the sleep crust out of my eyes, I yawned, coughing at the scratchiness in my throat. My nose was stuffy and sore, and I felt chilled in spite of the warmth of the day. Definitely caught a cold, I groaned miserably. Hundreds of years of scientific and medical advancements, and there was still no cure for the common cold. I would have to ride the illness out.
Dragging myself off the sofa, I noticed two things. One, there was a small mountain of flowers on the table by the door and, two, I had been covered with the blanket from my bed and I didn’t remember getting up to get it. Did Kano cover me up? It was a sweet thing to do, but was I really okay with him coming in my cabin while I was sleeping? My train of thought was abruptly interrupted when I sneezed. Desperately scrambling for a tissue as my nose tried to run from my face, I groaned again. This was so gross. I hated being ill. I always got worse before I got better. I was looking at a week’s worth of chest congestion, stuffy sinuses, and general misery. At least.
“Ugh.” Blowing my nose again, I headed back to my room to dress. Sick or not, I had sensors to repair and data to organize and transmit. There was also no telling how much cleanup would be needed after that storm. I didn’t even feel like eating. So, it was time to go to work. Yay…
It took hours to repair the broken sensors. One had to be replaced entirely. That was a bitch and a half. The landing pad was covered in palm leaves and broken limbs. Clearing that took me another hour. Then it was on to cleaning up the debris from around the cabin. Noon rolled around before I knew it and I was so tired. Snotty, feverish, and feeling like a limp rag, I flopped on the front step for just a moment. It didn’t take long to pass out.
Kano
I’d spent most of the morning unsuccessfully hunting for my next courting gift and found my female sleeping when I returned to check on her. It looked very uncomfortable, leaning against one side of her den opening like that. Her skin was pale and her nose strangely red, and wet. Carefully, I reached out and caressed her cheek. I pulled back, alarmed. Her skin was very hot, but she trembled as if cold. There was an illness among my people, it generally occurred when we spent too much time in the sun, but it presented in a similar fashion and could be deadly without care. I didn’t know why she was sick, but I could help her symptoms.
Very gently, I lifted her off the ground and carried her into her den. I hadn’t meant to trespass during the nig
ht, but she had been shivering in her sleep when I brought my latest gift. A quick search had revealed a large soft surface in the other room. It smelled of my female and I’d wondered if she normally slept there instead of the surface she had been on. Either way, it yielded a cover that protected her from the chill night air. It was that surface that I carried her to now. Laying her on it, she whimpered pitifully at the movement, but did not wake.
I am sorry my heart, but I must cool you off, I said, searching for a way to remove her coverings. It was obvious her people covered their bodies for whatever reasons. I would never disrespect her beliefs by exposing her without permission, but she was much too hot.
“Kano? What…what are you doing?” She mumbled weakly, blinking up at me.
You are very ill my heart. If I do not lower your core temperature you could become worse. I will not hurt you, I promised, leaning down to touch my head to hers.
“Okay…” she whispered absently, eyes closing again.
Pulling her upright, I pushed her upper covering off over her head. She wore a small blue covering over her mammaries. It shrouded so little that I left it in place, I wasn’t concerned about it making her too hot. I slid her leg coverings off as well, leaving the matching blue material over her groin. She fussed a little as I arranged her to lay on her side.
“Kano? What are you doing here?” She asked again, confusion furrowing her pretty face.
You are sick my female. I will care for you. And when you are well you can be angry at my impropriety, I teased, hoping to make her smile.
“I don’t feel so good, Kano,” she groaned instead, shifting to get more comfortable and giving a worrisome, wet sounding cough.
I know my heart, but I am here. I will make it better, I promised, stroking her cheek. This time she gave me the tiniest of smiles.
“Okay…” Then she was asleep again. Reluctantly I left her den and ran back to the water. It would take me sometime to locate the right plants I needed to treat her illness. The sooner I found them, the better.
There were two plants I needed that only grew in the deeper waters. Roosk and hesh. The roosk was a low growing sand creeper, rare and hard to find considering it was a favorite treat of the bottom feeding mollusks who migrated along the ocean floor. Hesh was less rare, but it grew on the walls of the trenches that were home to razor claws during the day, making it more dangerous to collect.
The last place I had seen roosk was more than half a day’s swim, but I doubted it was there after all this time. Instead, I headed for the nearest trench to get the hesh first. If I was lucky, I’d find roosk along the way. At least it was bright enough that the razor claws would be hiding deep in the darkness.
The trench itself was just outside the edges of the cove, barely a half span’s worth of swimming. Cautiously circling above the gash in the rocks, I tasted the water extensively before approaching. The scent of the predator was heavy in the water. This trench was definitely occupied, but I also tasted the presence of hesh. Lying flat in the sand, I camouflaged myself as I crept to the edge and peered in. The chasm was deep and darker than I liked, an overhang shadowed it further. I could just see the hesh growing at the edge of the light.
Bright pink, the long strands of hesh waved gently in the light current that swirled through the trench. I knew from experience that it would glow softly once the light faded from the sky. But that was when the razor claw would emerge to hunt. Slowly crawling down the side of the trench, I reached for the hesh. A swirl of current brought a scent from deeper down to me. A sharp, sour taste, hidden under the heavy tang of the razor claw. There was roosk in the trench. Rare, lifesaving roosk, hidden deep down in the dark.
Bypassing the hesh for now, I crept further down the wall. Eyes wide and alert, I scanned the darkness for the, hopefully, sleeping predator. Entering its den was suicide, but I needed that plant. The light faded, obscuring my vision. I moved as slowly as possible to avoid stirring the current further. There! The roosk grew in an incredible profusion along the bottom of the trench. Glowing with a faint blue light, beckoning me, it was the largest bed of roosk I’d ever seen. A razor claw slept in the middle of the growth, massive and obscenely serene for such a dangerous animal.
Determined to get that plant for my female, I continued down into the beast’s lair. Reaching the bottom, I eased off the wall and slid across the sand, stretching to reach the roosk. I needed roots as well as the leaves, so I dug my fingers underneath the nearest plants and gently loosened the sand around the roots. The sand whirled up into the current and drifted around the razor claw. It tensed, shifting as it slowly woke.
Out of time, I grabbed as many roosk as I could hold and yanked them out of the sand. The big crab clambered to its feet, turning about as it searched for whatever had disturbed its rest. I shoved off the floor of the trench, bolting passed its face and shooting for the surface. Its eye stalks swiveled to follow me. My free hands grabbed the lengths of hesh as I passed and I jerked them loose as I fled the razor claw that I could hear climbing the trench wall behind me.
Pain flared, causing me to jerk against the claw that grabbed my tail. The crab had me, pulling me back into the dark. Turning, I kicked wildly against the claw that held me. In response the animal tightened its grip, slicing through my fin. I pulled free and fled the trench, trailing blood behind me. It hurt, a lot, but I had the plants I needed to help my female. A new scar was nothing if it meant having her well and by my side. I headed straight for the cove as quickly as possible. The razor claw may have been forced to turn back by the daylight, but there were other predators in the sea that would be attracted by my bleeding fin. Thankfully, the wound would close quickly.
My female was still lying where I’d left her, but her skin was hotter and she made strange wet sounds through her nasal cavity. Sitting on a hard surface beside the sleeping area, was a small vessel holding what smelled like rainwater. My people lived in the saltwater of the ocean, we needed it to survive, but I had seen many of the land animals drink from the pools of rainwater that formed on the islands. Perhaps my female was like those animals and needed the rainwater instead of the briny seawater.
Separating out a small portion of the hesh and roosk plants I’d gathered, I chewed them up and spat the juices into the vessel of water. The mashed pulp I placed in an empty vessel for later. Carefully, I raised my female up and propped her against my chest, she whimpered lightly at the jostling. I patted her cheek.
Wake my female, I cajoled. Wake for me. She fussed, pushing my hand away. I jiggled her gently. You must wake up.
“Hmm? I don’t wanna wake up,” she complained. “I’m tired and sick. I just need to sleep a little while.” She coughed, rubbing at her face.
You must drink this before you sleep again, I said, jiggling her limp body again. Blinking wearily, she focused on the vessel I held. Making an agreeable sound, she reached weakly for it. I held it to her lips and tilted it so she could sip at the liquid. She grimaced at the first taste and sputtered, pushing it away.
“Yuck! What is that?” She demanded weakly.
Roosk and hesh mixed in water. You must drink it. It will make you better, I explained, holding the vessel to her mouth again. She turned her head away. Gently grabbing her jaw, I turned her to look at me. You will drink this, I said firmly. She met my gaze and must have seen the steadfast determination in my eyes because she sighed grumpily and eyed the drink distastefully. Holding it up once more, she accepted it and swallowed the contents quickly, shuddering as she pushed the empty vessel away.
“That stuff is awful,” she stated unhappily.
The things that are good for you usually are, I agreed with amusement. But you will feel much better soon.
“You don’t even know if that stuff will work on me. Hell, it could make me sicker. What are roosk and hesh anyways? I’ve never heard those names. They weren’t in my flora guide. What do they look like?” My cranky mate might feel well enough to argue with me, but she would be sleepy
again soon, a side effect of the hesh.
These are roosk and hesh, they grow on the ocean floor, I said, showing her the plants. She took them, turning them over in her hands and examining them curiously.
“Oh, these are in my book,” she yawned. “We call this one sand creeper. And that one is pink rockweed. They are listed as nontoxic to humans, but we didn’t know they had any medicinal properties.”
Yes, the roosk treats heat of the body, while the hesh is good for pain, sleeplessness, and breathing ailments.
“Sleeplessness huh? I guess that explains why I’m suddenly so tired,” she commented, yawning again. I chuckled as she relaxed against me once more.
Sleep, my female, I will watch over you. I promised, brushing my lips across her hair before laying her back on the sleep surface.
“Betsy,” she mumbled, her voice slurring.
Hmm?
“My name’s Betsy?” She repeated quietly, eyes closed.
Sleep, my Betsy. She didn’t know it yet, but she’d just made me inordinately happy. Females only gave their names to those they favored. A male could court a female for many seasons and never learn her name. Betsy’s name rang in my heart; a clear, sweet song of hope for the future. Rolling her to her belly, I spread the leftover hesh and roosk paste on her back. Its helpful properties would continue to seep through her skin, driving out the illness and staving off the fever. Then, I settled into a watchful pose nearby and waited.
I stood watch over my female through the night, helping her when she needed up to make waste. It was during this groggy trip to the ‘bathroom’ that she showed me the ‘sink’ and its miraculously convenient supply of fresh water. I made another mixture of roosk and hesh, adding it to a ‘glass’ of water and making her drink it. Once she slept again, I spread more of the paste on her neck and chest. Her breathing was easier by now and she no longer coughed. The fever had not returned and her nasal sounds were quiet once more.
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